(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to vehicles for pedestrian environments. More particularly, the subject matter disclosed relates to vehicles for transporting individuals in pedestrian environments such as airports, shopping centers, amusement parks, hotels, tourist areas, hospitals and the like.
(b) Related Prior Art
In many pedestrian environments, such as, without limitation, airports, shopping centers, amusement parks, hotels, tourist areas, hospitals, and the like, typical golf karts are often used to transport individuals (i.e., children, elderly people, travelers during their flight connections, etc.). Even if golf karts are very useful on golf playgrounds, they are often not the better option for other pedestrian environments.
As for example, in airports, when travelers are late for a flight, airplane companies often transport them from one gate to another. Conventional golf karts are often used for this purpose even if it does not provide a safe environment for the airplane company's customers and enough space for travelers with their luggage. Furthermore, as the driver is located in front of the passengers transported by his conventional golf kart, he has no clue about what is going on in the golf kart (i.e., behind him) and behind the golf kart itself. Using golf karts to transport passengers in an airport can therefore be found to be an unsafe practice.
On the other hand, a conventional golf kart may sometimes be hard to drive in pedestrian environments, as it needs to be driven as a conventional car. Objects or children can be located in front or in the back of the golf kart, and injuries can occur while the driver travels within a pedestrian environment.
Furthermore, conventional golf karts often give access to a limited number of individuals only, while there is often a need to transport a plurality of individuals in the pedestrian environment.
Moreover, it is often not convenient for travellers to get in and out a conventional gold kart with their luggage due to actual configurations of golf karts.
There is therefore a need for vehicles for transporting individuals in pedestrian environments that are safe, easily accessible by individuals and easily manoeuvrable by drivers.